Correction: No Deal Between Reid, Coburn
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) have not reached an agreement on a package of bills that Coburn was blocking.
Roll Call reported earlier tonight that Reid and Coburn had a deal, but that was incorrect.
Instead, Reid simply took the Coburn omnibus off the floor, preventing a Friday showdown between himself and the Oklahoma Republican, who has criticized several of the proposals in the package for excessive spending and government redundancy.
According to a senior Democratic aide, Reid pulled the bill because the Nevada Democrat is still mapping out the way forward on several of the bills, hoping that he may eventually reach some accord with Coburn and others.
At a press conference following the meeting, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the meeting was “productive” and that they heard the administration’s “initiative to help resolve the financial crisis in our country.”
Our purpose is to do that and in doing so, to insulate Main Street from Wall Street and recognize our responsibility to the taxpayer, to the consumer, and to the people all across our country,” Pelosi said.